How did a computer scientist such as Geoffrey Hinton manage to win a Nobel Prize in physics when computer science already has its own Nobel Prize equivalent in the Turing Awards?
10.06.2025 14:57
Whatever.
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
"Hey guys, AI is pretty big so let's centre our prizes on it this year. We can get some attention, and it's all about advertising, at the end of the day, isn't it?"
What is your favourite true story to tell at a party?
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
In awarding prizes, the Nobel Committees often seem only marginally more competent than MTG is at explaining meteorology. And if they can give a literature prize for lyrics like:
When he's standing, in front of you
What movies and TV shows portray realistic beauty standards?
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
You can have your cake and eat it too
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
Former church in Northern Kentucky now a heavenly home for sale - WWMT
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
DF Weekly: Why would Microsoft "sideline" its next generation handheld? - Eurogamer
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Do you think Japan will have same-sex marriage by 2030?
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
There you go.^†
How does Bollywood influence Indian culture?
(Mumbles of assent)
[Younger voice] "But wait a minute, Ising-Lenz goes back to the 1920's. And didn't Hinton plagiarise rather a lot? He also didn't invent modern backprop, did he, that's Linnainmaa? And Amari preceded Hopfield, too. That's not a good look."
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
[The basic structure of artificial neural networks] has close similarities with spin models in statistical physics applied to magnetism or alloy theory. This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics recognizes research exploiting this connection to make breakthrough methodological advances in the field of ANN.
In December 1973, when Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, comedian Tom Lehrer dropped his mic and stamped on it—satire had just died.
Whatever.
Early Humans Did More Than Just Walk—They Mastered a Surprising Skill Set - Indian Defence Review
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
Why am I so jealous towards couples? Why am I tired of being single and feel my life is over?